chapter 1

On my birthday, Gabriel Parker’s one and only, Olivia Quinn, got into a car accident.

Gabriel had ghosted me for a month after we stopped talking. Now he was in the middle of the crowd, holding a bloodied Olivia and screaming,

“No! You don’t get to die without my permission.”

For Olivia, who was already out cold, Gabriel knelt on the freezing snow and gave her CPR for over half an hour.

Their “epic love” instantly touched thousands of netizens’ hearts.

This time, I didn’t scream or cry.

I even voted “YES” when those netizens started spamming “PROPOSE TO OLIVIA ALREADY”.

Then I called Grandpa Logan Johnson.

“That offer from five years ago—still good?” ...

Grandpa’s voice was just as stern as it had been five years ago.

“You think you can just waltz in and out whenever you please?

“You think this is some kind of grocery store?”

My throat tightened, feeling utterly ashamed.

Before I could respond, the front door burst open.

Gabriel’s voice cut through the air.

“Sloane, what the hell? You’ve been ignoring my calls.”

Hearing Gabriel, Grandpa snorted and hung up immediately.

I clenched my phone, eyes locked on Gabriel.

There, cradled in his arms—Olivia, ghostly pale, clinging to his chest.

When she spotted me, her arm tightened around Gabriel’s neck.

Olivia said, “Sloane, Gabriel was just worried no one would take care of me. He insisted...”

Before she could finish, she broke into sobs.

Her already pale and fragile face turned into the perfect picture of wounded innocence.

Gabriel gently placed Olivia on the couch.

He said to Olivia, “Why bother explaining to her? This is my house. I’ll bring who I please.”

Olivia said, “But I was afraid Sloane might get the wrong idea.”

She “accidentally” flashed the ring on her ring finger.

My chest tightened.

I unlocked my phone.

The top trending headline was a video of Gabriel on one knee, proposing to Olivia in her wheelchair.

It already had over a million likes and shares.

In the video, Olivia nodded yes through happy tears.

As of now, Olivia’s account followers had skyrocketed from twenty thousand to ten million in just one month.

Olivia tried to stand up in a hurry, but her injured leg gave out, sending her crashing back down.

“Don’t get Gabriel wrong. I forced him to play along with this charade.”

As Olivia spoke, she made a show of sliding the ring off.

“If you’re still upset, I can explain everything to the fans right now.”

I asked, “Explain what?”

I stared at her, deadpan.

“That Gabriel cheated? Or that you knowingly became the other woman?”

Olivia froze, then shot Gabriel a pleading look.

Gabriel’s face darkened instantly.

He stood up and smacked my phone away.

He said, “Sloane, enough already!

“Nothing shady’s going on between me and Olivia.”

When I didn’t react, his eye twitched and said,

“She’s got nobody else right now. I’m just helping her—”

“Whatever.” I cut him off.

Before, anything related to Olivia was off-limits.

One wrong word, and we’d spiral into fights, silent treatments, then makeups.

But now, none of it mattered anymore.

I turned and headed upstairs.

I grabbed my suitcase and threw in some clothes and essentials.

The second I came down with my luggage, Olivia wiped that smug look off her face and swapped it for a look of remorse.

She said, “Sloane, if anyone should leave, it’s me.”

She ignored Gabriel’s protests, insisting on getting up to go.

Predictably, they both fell to the floor together in an embrace.

Gabriel fumbled to hold Olivia, then glared at me, furious.

He said, “Sloane, all you do is sit around the house getting jealous. Got nothing better to do?

“So what if I didn’t come back for your birthday? You really gotta throw a tantrum over that?”

As if granting me some great mercy, he yanked a red velvet box from his pocket and tossed it at my feet.

He continued, “Enough! You’re taking this too far now.”

I watched as the red velvet box hit the floor, the necklace spilling out.

Olivia, playing nervous, poured fuel on the fire.

She said, “I know Gabriel’s been blowing you off because of me lately.

“I took him to pick this necklace for you—sort of a belated birthday gift.

“Please don’t doubt his feelings for you just because of me.”

Olivia made a show of bending down to pick it up, but Gabriel kicked the box toward me instead.

His tone dripped with sarcasm.

“Olivia, stop groveling to her.

“Some people just push their luck—give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.”

I snorted and didn’t even bother arguing.

I just stepped right over the necklace, suitcase in hand.

Behind me, Olivia kept up her act, urging Gabriel in that fake-concerned tone,

“Go comfort her already. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have let her see me.”